Modern computer applications are generally resource intensive. Antivirus applications are even more so because they interact extensively with many hardware and software components of computer systems on which they run during complex system scans and other operations. Despite the fact that developers constantly improve operation of antivirus programs and their interaction with computer systems, the demand for system resources by antivirus programs continues to grow steadily, due to the increasing complexity and growing number of malicious software, such as viruses, worms, spyware and other types of malware.
Antivirus programs also frequently interfere with operation of conflicting programs. For example, an antivirus program may identify as malicious some action of a harmless application and, subsequently, limit access of this conflicting application to various system resources, such as memory, system registry, network and other. Due to this interference by the antivirus program, the conflicting applications cannot execute properly and have to repeat their requests for system resources, which further deteriorate overall system performance. The situation is exacerbated in enterprise environments, where applications are often executed on servers and accessed by system user on schedule, and interference by an antivirus program significantly slows down operation of such applications and impairs productivity of the users.
Accordingly, there is need for a more effective technique for conflict resolution among resource-intensive software applications, such as antivirus programs and other.